When people decide to retire early, it has more to do with lifestyle and time which is priceless instead of money. To be clear, while the amount of money you have saved is a very important factor (you certainly can’t live for free), some early retirees say it’s not the deciding one — or at least, it shouldn’t be.
The Importance Of Money
Retirees often discover that doing things for the sole purpose of getting money isn’t motivating anymore. Money becomes less important than it used to be after retirement. Even if you do hit your savings goal, there’s a chance you’ll feel like you could save just a little bit more. You might never feel truly ready — but that shouldn’t prevent you from retiring early anyway. For retirees, life must be lived by following passions and finding new passions. Time is something we cannot get back. Once it is gone, it is gone forever.
Leaving Work
Early retirement is just more fun than working. Spending ten more years working may not be worth the income benefits. If you have the opportunity to have ten or more extra years of retirement, early retirement can help you live the lifestyle you desire. Sometimes leaving a stressful career may even add a few additional years to your life. Many retirees discover that you just cannot put a price tag on early retirement.
Less Is More
One way to work toward early retirement is to begin learning to live well for less before retirement. This is a practice you can continue after retirement. Many retirees realize less is more as they embrace life. You cannot put a price tag on the quality and value of time and life which retiring early can provide.
The Value Of Time
We all dream of achieving financial independence throughout our lives. If we really contemplate what financial freedom means to each one of us, it is not about how much money is in our accounts. It is about time and the lifestyle we get to live. Time becomes more and more valuable as we age because somewhere inside, we have to admit we have less time left now than we did a decade or so ago. Money will never equal happiness. Time living a life filled with people we love, care about and want to be around filled with things we like to do and places we like to visit will add a priceless value to our lives.
